Third-baseman Aramis Ramirez received a cortisone injection Thursday for his sore left wrist and was out of the lineup Friday, when the Milwaukee Brewers opened a three-game series at Busch Stadium.

"I was playing like that, but it was getting worse and worse," Ramirez said before the Brewers played the St. Louis Cardinals.

"So we're just trying to take care of it now, and hopefully stay healthy for the rest of the season."

It was the second game this week the third baseman missed, following Sunday's loss to the Washington Nationals.

Ramirez said he had an MRI on the wrist Wednesday, following the Brewers' 13-4 win over the Houston Astros, and the decision was made to give him the shot Thursday, when the team was off.

"What it comes down to is he's been fighting this thing for a while, and it doesn't look like it's going to go away," said manager Ron Roenicke. "I tried to give him a day off but that doesn't seem to completely get rid of it.

"So they felt pretty comfortable with doing this, and hopefully he won't have to deal with it for the rest of the year."